Androcracy or andrarchy is a form of government in which the government rulers are men.

Example

In modern societies, most governments are ruled by men. The rise of feminism in the 20th century brought access to contraception and increased equal opportunities for women, both of which enabled women to challenge the traditional hegemony of androcratic institutions. Nevertheless, studies have been conducted in Africa, Australia, and Europe which continue to demonstrate a disproportionate representation of men in government. As of 2004, women represented 15.5 percent of all parliamentarians. Nordic countries have the highest representation at close to 40 percent, while Arab states have the lowest, near 6 percent.

Gender bias

Androcracy as a gender bias may influence the decision-making process in many countries, and women's issues may or may not be poorly represented as a result of gender discrimination. Kleinberg and Boris point to a dominant paradigm which promotes wage-earning fathers with financially dependent mothers, the exclusion of same-sex couples, and the marginalization of single-parent families.

Australia

In Australia, androcratic policy changes have impacted women in many significant ways: In 1999, the majority of Australian women's organisations were defunded by the federal Office of the Status of Women; In 2000, a consumption tax was added to tampons and breast pads; Funding for child care was decreased. Efforts are also underway to undermine federal sex discrimination laws that protect women. (Women in Action, 2003)

Gynocracy

The opposite of androcracy is gynocracy, or rule by women. Putative evidence of gynocracy survives in myths and in some alleged archaeological records.

Books

• Flanders, Laura. (2004). Bushwomen: Tales of a Cynical Species. Verso. ISBN 1859845878.
• Flanders, Laura (ed). (2004). The W Effect : Bush's War on Women. The Feminist Press at CUNY. ISBN 1558614710
• Martin, Mart. (2001). The Almanac of Women and Minorities in American Politics 2002. Westview Press. ISBN 0813398177
• Matland, Richard E. Montgomery, Kathleen A. (2003). Women's Access to Political Power in Post-Communist Europe. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199246858
• Melich, Tanya. (1996). The Republican War Against Women : An Insider's Report from Behind the Lines. Bantam. ISBN 0553378163
• Pusey, Michael. (1989). Economic Rationalism in Canberra: A Nation-Building State Changes its Mind. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521336619

Publications

• Studler, Donley T. Welch, Susan. (1987). Understanding the Iron Law of Andrarchy: The Effects of Candidate Gender on Voting Scotland. Comparative Political Studies. 20. July. 174-191.

• Hakim, C. (2003). Family Matters. Australian Institute of Family Studies. 52. Sept.

• Boris, E. Kleinberg, S.J. (2003). Mothers and other workers: (re)conceiving labor, maternalism, and the state. Journal of Women's History (http://iupjournals.org/jwh). 15. 3. 90. Sept.

• Maddison, Sarah. (2003). Bombing the patriarchy or outfitting a cab: challenges facing the next generation of feminist activists. Women in Action (http://www.womeninaction.org). Aug.

See also

• Patriarchy

External link

• Inter-Parliamentary Union (http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm), Women in Parliaments: World and Regional Averages
• Africa (http://www.kas.de/db_files/dokumente/7_dokument_dok_pdf_3727_1.pdf) - Report details andrarchy in seven African countries
• Macedonia (http://www.uh.edu/~pols1oj/chaptersnet.htm) - Andrarchy in Macedonian political system
• Joel Aberbach (http://www.polisci.ucla.edu/menu/people/faculty/joel_aberbach.php) - UCLA